Hagi Dazzles, Jota And Kamada Hat-Tricks Light Up Europa League Night
21st February 2020
In the first leg of the round-of-32, Wolves beat Espanyol 4-0, Eintracht beat Salzburg 4-1 and Rangers beat Braga 3-2 at Ibrox
- Diogo Jota of Wolves and Daichi Kamada of Eintracht Frankfurt hit hat-tricks, but the man at the heart of the most remarkable Europa League display on Thursday night had a familiar name: Ianis Hagi, who inspired an unlikely Rangers fightback
- Arsenal won 1-0 at Olympiakos and, in early games, Manchester United drew 1-1 away to Club Brugge and Celtic's visit to Copenhagen finished with the same score
- In Frankfurt, Kamada, a 23-year-old Japanese midfielder, hit the first after 12 minutes. Two minutes before the break he broke from the halfway line to score a second. He added a third with a header in the 53rd minute
PARIS,
France- Diogo
Jota of Wolves and Daichi Kamada of Eintracht Frankfurt hit hat-tricks, but the
man at the heart of the most remarkable Europa League display on Thursday night
had a familiar name: Ianis Hagi, who inspired an unlikely Rangers
fightback.
In the first leg of the round-of-32, Wolves beat Espanyol
4-0, Eintracht beat Salzburg 4-1 and Rangers beat Braga 3-2 at Ibrox.
Arsenal won 1-0 at Olympiakos and, in early games,
Manchester United drew 1-1 away to Club Brugge and Celtic's visit to Copenhagen
finished with the same score.
In a battle between two European heavyweights Bayer
Leverkusen held off Porto 2-1.
Jota, who hit three in the last pool game in November and
had not scored since, struck the first from close range, the second from a
narrow angle and the third from outside the area. Ruben Neves hit a typically
spectacular volley and Wolves crushed the club struggling at the bottom of La
Liga.
"We competed well and we were clinical," said Nuno
Espirito Santo, the Wolves coach. "For me, the organisation and another
clean sheet is important. You know my view that everything starts from
there."
In Frankfurt, Kamada, a 23-year-old Japanese midfielder, hit
the first after 12 minutes. Two minutes before the break he broke from the
halfway line to score a second. He added a third with a header in the 53rd
minute.
He then turned provider, starting the move which ended with
Filip Kostic netting Frankfurt's fourth.
Kamada has not scored in 17 Bundesliga games this season,
but Thursday's hat-trick gave him six in the Europa League, all in his last
three games and scored over a span of 178 minutes.
He becomes the third highest Japanese scorer in European
club competition behind Shinji Kagawa, who scored 11 for Borussia Dortmund and
Manchester United, and Liverpool's Takumi Minamino who has so far also scored
11, all for Salzburg.
In Glasgow, Braga dominated the first hour and led with
goals by captain Fransergio and Abel Ruiz.
Hagi started the fightback in the 67th minute, cutting in
from the right and shooting in off the post. His father Gheorghe, who won the
UEFA Cup, from which the Europa League evolved, with Galatasaray in 2000,
celebrated in the stands.
Joe Aribo then scored a remarkable second, weaving and
barging through the massed Braga defence and when he finally burst clear, the
Nigerian international finished with composure.
With eight minutes left, Rangers won a free-kick. Hagi
stepped up. His shot hit the wall and then arced slowly into the corner of the
Braga net just out of reach of goalkeeper Matheus.
Rangers had saved themselves with three goals in 15 minutes.
"I think we've rediscovered ourselves, certainly from
the second-half performance," Rangers manager Steven Gerrard told BT
Sport.
"We showed unbelievable character, we ran hard for each
other, we were more compact, more organised, we had a better shape and we were
on the front foot more in the second half."
- Late strike -
Arsenal also struck late in Greece. In the 81st minute,
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang chased a long ball and kept it in play before
passing inside to Bukayo Saka. The youngster hit a hard, low cross which
Alexandre Lacazette turned in from close range.
Olympiakos had seven strikes on target to six by the Gunners
but Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno stopped everything.
"It's my job to make saves," said the German.
"At the end when you have a clean sheet, I'm happy. We won this game and
we have the away goal so we're happy."
Anthony Martial struck a crucial away goal as Manchester
United came from behind against Belgian league leaders Brugge.
Nigerian forward Emmanuel Dennis lobbed a stranded Sergio
Romero from 30 yards to give Brugge the lead on 15 minutes at a chilly,
rainswept Jan Breydelstadion.
Martial though hauled United level before half-time with an
excellent run and finish after pouncing on a defensive lapse from Brandon
Mechele.
"It was a difficult game against a well-organised team,
under difficult conditions. I don't think it was one of the best games anyone
has seen," said United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
"It was a bit sloppy in terms of concentration but
conditions with the pitch and ball makes it hard.
"We got an away goal, we got a draw and we're at home
next week. Hopefully we can finish the job."
Elsewhere, Celtic keeper Fraser Forster saved a late Jens
Stage penalty in a 1-1 draw away to FC Copenhagen after Odsonne Edouard's
opener was negated by an effort from Senegalese striker Dame N'Doye.